Saturday, February 22, 2014

I managed just under 40 miles on today's ride. Temps rose to mid 50's, bright blue skies, and reasonable winds. All that melting snow made the air feel colder than the thermometer reading. Initially I rode around the neighborhood with the bike packed for the trip just to get a feel. The trike handled well, not grossly heavy or encumbered. I was tempted to ride 20 miles loaded but feared these grossly battered roads might due damage to the trike. I returned home, unloaded the trike and out again. It was just too beautiful a day not to get a good ride in. The roads were as expected, rivers of melting snow and riddled with potholes. It was slow going at times but felt so good to finally get out.
This is my last ride before I leave. I don't believe I will be able to blog on my trip. I will, however, post short blurbs and pics to Facebook. If your interested in how I fair please follow me on Facebook.

Friday, February 21, 2014

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I put everything together to see how it fits. It seems I have a bit more room than when on GOBA. I hope I'm not leaving anything out. I will break it down again so I can double check and learn where things are. Tomorrow promises to be a nice. I hope to get a few test miles in while loaded just to get a feel. It will be my first ride in 2 weeks.
Bike with accessories (rack, fenders, fairing, lights) 50 lbs
Loaded panniers and tent 32 lbs

Monday, February 17, 2014

It's been a few months in planning and is now down to the wire. My epic cycling adventure around Florida. Like most of the country, I have been overwhelmed with Winter. I decided this year I would plan a trip to Florida. My initial thought was to go on BikeFlorida at the end of March. The problem being, it's only a week long tour around St Augustine and Daytona, two places I have been many times. I wanted something more. I investigated Adventurecycling routes and found the Florida/Connector Loop. St Augustine-Ft Lauderdale- Ft Myers- St Augustine, 750 miles. Fortunately, my wife is very understanding and my job flexible. I will drive down to St Augustine, park my car and ride from there.. I figure 50 miles/day and am allowing 4 weeks. I have been advised not to make permanent long term plans and to take each day as it comes. I have never done anything of this magnitude before so this seems like the right mindset. I decided on using my ICE T as I prepared on GOBA. The fairing and carrying capacity make it a great platform for self-contained touring.

Unfortunately, the constant snow storms have made training rides impossible. I have added 10 lbs of Winter Fur and fear my bent legs are mushy. It will probably take a week of rides to comfortably hammer away. I am also concerned how well my 8 year old trike will fair. It has many miles and will be carrying quite the load. Thankfully, the first 300 miles will be flat along the coast. It will get hilly inland. My plan is to camp and motel as needed, no cooking. Most of my equipment and supplies are ready. I still have to decide on clothes. It can be quite chilly in northern Florida, especially at night and early morning. It's supposed to warm up in a couple of days and I'm hoping I can get some practice packing on the bike. If not, I will have to figure it out. I am very excited and hopeful things will fall into place. It's not the ride but the journey.

Friday, February 7, 2014

With all the snow, ice and slush the only bike I feel comfortable riding is my Greenway. I am planning a major tour next month and will be taking my ICE T. I need to get some miles in so my legs won't be in culture shock. Today I dared take the T. Temps right around freezing, light winds and bright sunshine. Roads were narrow from plowed snow with little to no shoulder. Still many patches of ice, slush and water, not to mention humongous potholes. Salt along the sides only adds to bike destruction. I was surprised to see one other cyclist on his CF racer. I can't imagine riding anything but a trike or at least some form of fat tired bike on these treacherous roads. It was a slow 40 miles and the bike performed well. My biggest issue was cold feet in spite of the fairing. Any miles in this weather is good but I'm hoping for some more training miles on my T.

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About Me

Rediscovered cycling when I moved to NJ over 25 yrs ago. Discovered recumbents 14 yrs ago and haven't looked back. Getting out in the fresh air and exercising without polluting gives me great satisfaction. In 2012 I had almost as many miles on my bike as my car. My future goal is to have more miles on my bike. In addition to cycling, I enjoy camping. I am a devoted husband, father and grandfather.